About the Webster County Chancery Clerk
Michael L. Kolb is the Chancery Clerk of Webster County. County records show he has served in the role since 2024. The Chancery Clerk is an elected county officer. The office works out of the courthouse in Walthall, and three deputy clerks handle most of the day to day requests.
This office wears many hats. It is the home of land records, the clerk's desk for Chancery Court, and the records keeper for the Board of Supervisors. It also carries the county's core money duties. The block below lists the main office, the phone and fax lines, and the deputy clerks who answer the counter and the mail.
Webster County Chancery Clerk
Clerk: Michael L. Kolb
6333 MS Hwy 9, Suite 123
Walthall, MS 39771
(662) 258-4131
Fax: (662) 258-9635
Deputy Clerks: Mo Sims (msims@webstercountyms.org), Christina Faulkner (cfaulkner@webstercountyms.org), Jordan Russell (jrussell@webstercountyms.org)
What the Webster County Chancery Clerk Does
Few county offices carry as many roles as this one. State practice hands the Chancery Clerk both court duties and money duties. The official county page lists seven core jobs, and each one touches a different set of public records.
- Custodian of land records
- Records and preserves deeds, mortgages, liens, plats, and other property documents.
- Clerk of Chancery Court
- Files and keeps the court's petitions, orders, decrees, and minute books.
- Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
- Records the board's minutes, claims, and official county actions.
- County treasurer
- Receives, holds, and tracks county funds.
- County auditor
- Reviews county claims and balances the accounts.
- Comptroller
- Oversees county financial reporting.
- Collector of delinquent real estate taxes
- Handles unpaid land taxes and the redemption process.
Note: Because this office is both a court clerk and a county money officer, a single visit can touch a land deed, a probate file, and a tax question at the same counter.
Which Clerk Holds Which Records
Webster County runs a split clerk system, so the first step is picking the right office. The Chancery Clerk and the Webster County Circuit Clerk divide the county's records along clear lines. Land, equity, and family matters fall to the Chancery side. Criminal, jury, marriage, and election work fall to the Circuit side. The table sorts the most common requests.
| Record Type | Held By |
|---|---|
| Deeds, mortgages, land records | Chancery Clerk |
| Probate, wills, estates | Chancery Clerk |
| Divorce, custody, guardianship | Chancery Clerk (Chancery Court) |
| Board of Supervisors minutes | Chancery Clerk |
| Felony and indicted criminal cases | Circuit Clerk |
| Civil Circuit suits and judgments | Circuit Clerk |
| Marriage licenses | Circuit Clerk |
| Jury, grand jury, and elections | Circuit Clerk |
Webster County Land Records and Recording Fees
The Chancery Clerk is the custodian of land records for the whole county. Deeds, deeds of trust, mortgages, releases, liens, plats, and similar documents are recorded and indexed here. When property changes hands, the new paperwork is brought to Suite 123 and filed into the county's land books. Title searchers, surveyors, lenders, and heirs all rely on these records.
Recording carries a fee, and the amount depends on the document and its length. The county publishes a recording-fee schedule that the Chancery Clerk links from its page. Always confirm the current charge before you mail or bring a document, since fees and page counts can change. You can review the posted list in the county recording fees sheet.
Land records are indexed by name and by book and page. A title search walks the chain of ownership back through deeds, deeds of trust, and releases tied to one parcel. If you bring a legal description or a parcel number, the clerk or a searcher can work faster. Older land books matter here for one local reason. The historic Webster County Courthouse burned in January 2013, and county offices ran from temporary space in Eupora for years before the new courthouse opened in 2019. Because of that move, some older records carry a paper and digitization history worth asking the clerk about.
Note: Land records held by the Chancery Clerk are the official source, while online portals offer a convenient first look that may carry an access charge.
Webster County Online Land Portals
The county links several online tools for land, tax, and parcel data through its official online-services page. These tools speed up a search, but they are not all the same. Some are free informational lookups, while the deed images sit behind a paid land-record service. The county also notes a practical tip: if a tool will not load, try a different web browser such as Chrome before giving up. You can reach the full set from the county online services page.
| Portal | What It Shows | Access Note |
|---|---|---|
| Delta land records | Deeds and recorded land documents | Subscription or pay per document |
| Data Systems tax inquiry | Property tax, land roll, property cards | Informational lookup |
| Land redemption inquiry | Delinquent tax and redemption status | Informational lookup |
| GIS parcel map | Parcel lines, ownership, acreage | Data is provisional |
The GIS map is handy for a quick parcel check, but the county warns that the map and its data are provisional. Decisions with safety, business, money, or operational weight stay the user's responsibility, so confirm anything important against the recorded deed.
Webster County Probate and Estate Records
Probate is a Chancery Court matter in Mississippi, so these files live with the Chancery Clerk. When someone dies, the estate is opened, administered, and closed through Chancery Court. The clerk keeps the petitions, orders, letters, inventories, accountings, creditor notices, and final decrees. Guardianships, conservatorships, and minor settlements run through the same office.
To find an estate, you usually search by the decedent's name, and by a ward's name for a guardianship or conservatorship. A case number and an approximate date help the clerk pull the right file. Older estates may sit in bound Chancery books rather than a searchable database. For a fuller look at how estates work here, see the Webster County Chancery Court records page.
Webster County sits in the Fourteenth Chancery Court District. That district groups Webster with Chickasaw, Clay, Lowndes, Noxubee, and Oktibbeha Counties under shared Chancery judges. The court rotates through the counties, but a Webster County estate, will, or guardianship is filed and kept with the Webster County Chancery Clerk. So the place to search, file, and request copies stays the courthouse in Walthall, even when a judge hears matters elsewhere in the district.
Webster County Chancery Records on MEC
Mississippi Electronic Courts, known as MEC, is the statewide system for Circuit and Chancery case files. Webster County Chancery Court has its own entry, and the public can reach it through the Fourteenth Chancery District court login. To view documents remotely, a person registers for public access, called PAMEC. The state set the cost at ten dollars per year plus twenty cents per page for viewing. The July 2025 statewide e-filing completion notice confirms these terms.
Remote access has firm limits. The same notice bars online viewing for several sensitive Chancery categories. That list covers divorce, child custody and visitation, child support, guardianship, conservatorship, minor's settlement, domestic-abuse protection, and files the court has sealed. Many Chancery cases fall into these groups.
Important: When a Chancery file is blocked from remote view, the courthouse public terminal or the clerk's counter in Suite 123 is the practical way to inspect or copy it.
Request a Copy From the Chancery Clerk
Most copy requests follow the same path, whether the record is a deed, a probate order, or a Board of Supervisors minute. Plain copies are fine for personal reference. Certified copies carry the clerk's seal and are the version courts, lenders, and title companies expect. The steps below walk through a request to the Webster County Chancery Clerk.
- Identify the record type and confirm the Chancery Clerk holds it, using the split-clerk table above.
- Gather the details that help the search: party or owner name, decedent or ward name, book and page, case number, and an approximate date.
- Choose a channel. Visit Suite 123 in person, call (662) 258-4131, send the request by fax at (662) 258-9635, or mail it to the courthouse address.
- State whether you need a plain copy or a certified copy, and how many copies you want.
- Pay the copy, certification, or recording fee, and ask which payment methods the office accepts that day.
- Pick the document up at the counter, or ask the clerk to mail it once it is ready.
Note: Land deed images may also be pulled through the paid Delta land-record service, but a certified copy with the clerk's seal still comes from the Chancery Clerk's office.
Other Webster County Chancery Clerk Roles
The Chancery Clerk is more than a court clerk in Webster County. The same officer serves as county treasurer, auditor, and comptroller, and collects delinquent real estate taxes. The office also acts as clerk of the Board of Supervisors. That means board minutes, county claims, and official board actions are recorded and kept here as public records.
These records fall under Mississippi's open-records law. The Mississippi Public Records Act, found at Miss. Code Section 25-61-1, says public records should be open for inspection unless an exception applies. You can read the policy in the state's Public Records Act text. For board minutes, tax-redemption questions, or financial records, the Chancery Clerk's office is the office to call. The Chancery Court itself sits in the Fourteenth Chancery District, which you can confirm on the Mississippi Judiciary Chancery Court page.